Blogs on top of blogs on top of blogs on top of blogs. We fucks with Low. We have for a while now. He was one of the first to post T.Shirt music when everybody else was too pussy. He was one of the first to post music period actually, which he'll tell you about down below. He shares my affinity for steak and eggs, he's good on the mic at parties, and he lives the life he writes about. Fuck with him. And fuck with PigeonsandPlanes.com for being so good at what they do, too.

This is it for my brothers in Israel making the otherwise harsh conditions come alive with jumping color. If I'm not mistaken they come home in the next two days. I haven't talked to any of them personally in the last three weeks, save for these visual diaries. It'll be interesting to hear first hand of how the trip might've changed their perspective a little bit. Big guns and graffiti, what a life we lead.

Everybody needs a good ashtray in their home. I prefer blunt ashes and dutch guts over cigarette butts but to each it's own. The part candle and part ashtray is made out of paraffin wax material, with a wick that burns in the center of the tray. The wax melts and drowns not only the ashes, but also the odor. They come in a bunch of colors, too, but I like this one best.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

My homegirl Ms. Cline over at RapUp got to sit with Jada Jada to ask him a bunch of questions I don't think we ever heard the Yonkers nigga answer before. Truly rousing stuff.

Everyone knows you as Jadakiss the rapper. What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I just like chillin’, I like reading. I read all kinds of books. Nothing is out of the range. I like shopping for sneakers. I like collecting watches. I just bought a black Jacob; a whole black set actually—a watch, a chain, and a bracelet. I like socks too. I like all kinds of freaky socks—Polo, argyle, the George Jeffersons. I don’t just do the regular white joints. I don’t like under the ankle socks either.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Rozzzzzaaaayyyyyyy. You can always tell when Complex is about to kill the game with something else because thebrass starts talking that shit. I love it. Here they do that thing where they sit two characters from different worlds together and ask them funny stuff. Read the whole thing here or come to my house in a few days and feel it in your hands.

Andy: Rick, did you ever see the biopic on Don King? My favorite line from that is when he’s in the bathroom talking to a dude while he’s taking a piss and the guy asks, “Hey Don, aren’t you going to wash your hands?” and he’s like, “Shit, I wash my hands before I touch my dick!” Ross: [Laughs.] That’s true, though.

Interesting visuals for a pretty record left off of Ocean's breakthrough, Nostalgia, Ultra. Not sure if you heard but Def Jam doesn't want to lose another cent from this kid, so they decided to re-release the album to retail on July 26th. Hopefully we get some new bonus cuts on it or something.

Maybe one of the most beautiful sport cars I've ever seen. BMW pays tribute to the legendary 328, turning 75 years young in 2011. They take part in the Mille Miglia race this year and are about to reveal their brand-new BMW 328 Hommage, in celebration of the oldtimer. Shit is, fucking ridiculous.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Feeling this performance. Beautiful intro and such. If the whole show becomes available in some workable quality I'll try and get it up for you. I heard it was a good one. For now it's just some select stuff I find. Shout to Yardie.

The kid Dred's in Israel with the URNEWYORK team for the next couple weeks and will be bringing us an insider look into the daily going ons. This is just the first episode but it has such a nice feel to it. Ski with the 1997 shirt on, the beach days etc. Maybe you care, maybe you don't but this is family across the world we're talking about, haha. Walk with us.

Artists 4 Israel's mission to paint messages of support from the graffiti community to the heart and soul of Israel from the Gaza Strip to Tel Aviv.

Used to love these guys. One of my favorite record OF ALL TIME is Pachuca Sunrise. Anyway, somehow I got an email about this new EP of live material and B-side stuff. I haven't got a chance to listen to it yet so don't hold me to anything quite yet but maybe check it out with me and lemme know what you think.

As a thank you to our fans, we're giving away the the six-song Hold Me Down EP - completely free - through our website, minusthebear.com.

Friday, May 20, 2011

My goodfriend has her big day today in New York and there's a few people I know she wishes could be there with her. It hit me a little while ago and I thought to myself, this girl deserves better than that. So rather than the normal obligatory congratulation post, I got her cool ass sister in Oakland to say a few words from the heart;

My beautiful sister, I can so clearly remember the day you left home for Paris. I cried, not because you were moving on but because I was so wonderfully proud of you. You have so gracefully shown me the many beauty's life has to offer and I am overwhelmed with love and happiness for the person you've grown to be. The bond between us is that of unimaginable love that I hope to be able to bring to you each and every day. I can not tell you how much I look up to you and how much I always have. So today I will cry again, in celebration of the beginning of a new chapter in your life and the many accomplishments you have made along the way.

Love, your little sister

*Huge thank you to Yelena for that. To any and all graduates this year, thank you for sticking to it! Thank you for working diligently and making yourselves walking, shouting examples of the heights you can reach! You make the world a better place. And to Amk, Gift and Sav, I'm proud of you girls. You bitches will run the world.

With the amount of vlogs this team puts out I simply can't support every single one of them, although I usually watch. There's something special about this one. I don't know about you but I'm deeply inspired by stuff like this.

Hov does his always awesome live show strut in a move that's been reported as his coming out party for a television deal struck with Adult Swim for a new series. Nothing has been confirmed and I'm not in the business of selling rumors so stay with us for an update.

*Two things. Jay cut his hair. His fans know this means a body of work has been completed. Watch The Throne is coming. Also, the beat for the Boondocks Theme? Wow. I need that.

Our guy got to preview an outrageous looking collection in a penthouse suite at The Setai Fifth Avenue hotel last week. Jealous isn't the word. Still, if there's anyone we'd like to report on this sort of thing, it's Will Yan. #Respect.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Here's the hot topic you might have been hearing about all day from various sources on your "timeline". In my humble opinion, EVERYBODY has a checkered past in one way or another. I'm not judging ANYBODY for what it says on a piece of paper that they did 10 years, yesterday or even 2 hours ago. While Jon makes some great points, he's being way too politically correct. I guess I get it, and I do appreciate the effort. I'm not gonna play right into the stereotype of rappers hating Bill O'Reilly. He does what he needs to do for ratings and to be the strongest version of himself he can be. God bless him for it. I don't know his heart.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

I'm not gonna even front like this shit didn't hype me the fuck up! I need records like this in my life. Like, not for anybody (not true, though) but myself. I need to make a few of these just to prove to myself I can do it. Khaled said he almost had tears in his eyes when he heard it and I feel that nigga.

Cheers! We featured my man Reno Msad's take on a Big illustration he did for a Fader Magazine contest last week and yesterday we find out he won! Salute! It's not a million dollars in prize money or anything but it's super cool nonetheless and some spotlight on the kid's enormous talent is always welcomed. Head over to Fader and check out what they had to say. Follow the NYC designer on twitter now as he readies a new website and prepares for a hot summer.

Happy for them boys. Ross really got his shit together this year and is building an army. I think we're all a little apprehensive about the music thus far but the grinding, the amount of music, the videos, the shows etc. don't go unnoticed in this game. Sooner or later you're gonna really have to pay attention. In the clip above, Ross talks about being inspired by the legendary teams we've seen come in and run ish.

*Bonus* The MMG Compilation still slated to drop May 24th sprung a leak last night and a bunch of records made it's way out. Here's the standout by far, in my opinion, featuring one of the most comfortable verses from J.Cole to date.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Get right for summer little nigga. Step your life up something interesting. Horween unlined Chromexcel leather and red bottoms take the classic silhouette of a pair of moccasins to the next level. Handsewn in Maine and available exclusively through Leffot in N.Y.C.

Sidenote: blog.Leffot.com houses some amazing shoes for the grown up man. Do check them out.

I know I'm a little late but this shit is awesome. Action Bronson may just be my favorite new guy. Support the kid by copping his new album receiving a lot of deserving attention as of late. The video, directed by Alexander Richter and Tom Gould, is perfect.

I always had a major affinity for big block letters on a crisp white tee. For the launch of Selfridges “Project Ocean” campaign, the special edition T-shirts designer Katharine Hamnett hit it big with in the 1980s have made a striking a comeback raising awareness of the world's oceans. They're priced at $65 USD, and can be copped exclusively through Selfridges.

Got a chance to check these out before they went up at Reed Space and they really are gorgeous and extremely well made. Another great thing is all the different styles they come in. Nothing like options. I've been feverishly looking for something right but these are a little on the pricey side coming in at a few hundred dollars for each. You get what you pay for and all but I don't know.

This style is called the "Tokyo Bag". Go here for the full collection.

My boy Will got to be a part of DC's new campaign where they called upon seven bloggers to represent and interpret their new Studio shoe in a video and photo essay. This kid is the man, haha, approaching everything with that Will Yan-brand of cool. I'm not such a big fan of the shoes but the durability seems to be pretty unmatched.

Caught wind of a contest Fader put together for designers to hand in their own rendition of a Biggie cover for their annual Icon Issue and immediately put my man Reno Msad on. If the name sounds familiar it's because my guy has worked on numerous projects for myself as well as big money corporate stuff like MTV's Video Music Awards, to name a few. Still, doing things like the art up top is good for the soul and oh my goodness did he kill it.

Seriously looking into getting a Jeep soon. With the Xplore package, the Wrangler seen up top has upgrades like a new wheel set, MOPAR exhaust, Bilstein shocks and special branding. It's just a solid vehicle and isn't trying to be anything it's not. Autoblog has the deets.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Song is fucking great and video is gorgeous. I'm still on the fence about what the fuck this bitch is actually talking about though. Great writing, code games and whispery, iconic imagery aside, what the hell is this about?

I like these a lot but you gotta dirty these motherfuckers up. Wear 'em with jeans on your ass and good sneakers. Well, depending on your style you'll be able to make it work. Five different designs match the 5 different album cover artworks and each is limited to only 100 pieces. French-made, in silk twill, with hand-lettered borders by M/M (Paris). Available through colette and MMparis.com come Monday morning.

Up top is my favorite but Hypebeast comes through with a few more. Wondering how much one of these things will cost.

Solid little read for anyone who misses talk of Hov lately. I'm sure this has to do with the fact big homie is getting ready to open up a chain of airport lounges. It never stops for the walking, talking empire. Shout to Rapradar for the heads up. Go here.

Taking a long, hard look at ole boy. These things are so beautiful in my opinion. Just a solid machine. Specs include quad-core processors, powerful new graphics, groundbreaking high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology and a new FaceTime® HD camera. Starting at $1,199, head over to Apple for the full rundown.

Super interesting. Happy there seems to be a surge in smart documentary on the social explosion we're witnessing more each day. I'm definitely the person that believes there's still a place for print that's worth the ink and paper. Page One follows The New York Times through a period of one year as we’re given a behind-the-scenes look into a news giant and all the complexities of running the best. The movie is slated for release on June 24th.

Impressed by Tyler a lot actually. I wish he stopped rapping about bullshit for the sake of getting a rise out of people, and I'd tell him that shit to his face. The stuff that's not bullshit is amazing though.

This shit is amazing. Rae did it some years back for Scram Jones' album but decided to release a snippet today in light of recent events. Here's the tweet. There's a reason this guy is one of my favorites.